QuadPlane Help Please

Hello Ardu Masters!
I’m hoping to start a conversion of an existing fixed wing to a QuadPlane and am seeking some guidance before I embark on this endeavor. As a disclaimer I have no aerospace engineering training (or ECalc etc.) so please be kind :slight_smile:

In a nutshell I’m starting off with an Event38 E384 that I would like to modify to VTOL. The plane comes stock with Turnigy G32 600kv motor and 4 Cell, 5.0 Ah LiPo batteries. It currently has an AMP 2.6 which I plan to replace with a Pixhawk 1. The aircraft with payload is approximately 6 lbs.

My first hurdle is to properly identify which motors, ESCs, power distribution board etc. will be needed for this build. I’m hoping that everything can be powered from the existing batteries. If anyone could please recommend some good choices for these quad components I would be very grateful. I have a bunch of old IRIS+ motors and parts but I’m sure I’m not lucky enough that those would be useful.

Thank you for any help and guidance you can provide! Michael

Hi Michael,

For a quick estimation, you can use the specs on your Turnigy G32 motors on a 4s Lipo and a 13" prop. Multiply the 1680g of thrust by 4 to get 6720g or 14.8lbs of thrust to lift your 6lb E384 plane.

There is plenty of thrust in your setup to lift the plane with authority so it is a good start!

Since you will only draw around 20amps current at full throttle, which you will never use, you can look for an inexpensive 30-amp controller with SimonK or BLheli firmware. Many people use Hobbywing ESCs but there are many choices here that will work.

Good luck!

Greg,

Thank you so much for the prompt response! The Turnigy G32 is the existing forward propulsion motor for the plane and includes a 12" prop but not what I would use for the quad propulsion. I did a little digging on the IRIS+ motors (TMotor MN2213) I have and based on a study it appears these can provide 4428g or 9.32lbs of thrust at 75% throttle using the 9.75" props (t9545). Would these be sufficient or would I need to add a larger prop?
Also, in a chart provided by the study it shows approx 12.4 amps per motor at 75% and 15.1 amps at 100% (I believe, chart below). Does this mean I should get at least a 60 amp ESC? Or should I find different motors? Will I need any other electronics to tie this into the system? Thank you so much again! MB

Another chart showing different results for same motors…

Similar project here :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAJqf3CZo4c

And interesting links if you don’t find it :
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2699688-APM-QuadPlane-Tiltrotor-and-Tiltwing
http://discuss.ardupilot.org/t/quadplane-conversion-of-hobby-king-bix3-trainer/10368/43

I follow this subject :slight_smile:

Michael,

The 2213 950kv motors should work fine. I would start with 10x4 props and 40-amp ESCs on a 4s Lipo pack on your E384 plane.

kikislater,

Nice flying QuadPlane! Great job!

Sorry it’s not mine. I just have it in my favourite if one day I will transform my Skywalker to quadplane …

Ok, I see. The Skywalker, E384 plane, and Ranger EX all seem to be about the same size so they should work fine.

Thank you Greg! I was hoping to be able to re-purpose the 2213 motors into something useful! I really appreciate your feedback and I’m sure I’ll be back on here as this build progresses. Thanks for your expertise with this!